The Tories turn their attention to privatising Channel 4, a service whose complete reason for being is its independence. Why should they do such misguided thing? I would imagine it is because, They and their pals can make money from it, Private owners can be trusted to tame the critical aspects of its social commentary, It’s a dry run for doing the same to the BBC and eventually the NHS, Nothing else whatsoever. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60993888
Sooz Kempner imagines what is going on in Nadine’s head. https://twitter.com/soozuk/status/1511377005161426946?s=21&t=qAsBUDyi37WXFaNppezbkQ
The thing about Channel 4 is that it works. It is publicly owned but is self funded. Unlike the BBC, it doesn't have to justify it's programming to the licence payer. Equally, unlike fully private media, it doesn't have to maximise revenue by pandering to the most populist of programming just to maximise viewing figures. Of course they do popular programming but they also take risks with innovative and risky films and programmes. Some of the most important films of recent years have come with Film4 funding (Slumdog Millionaire, The Favourite, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Room, Ex Machina, 12 Years a Slave, The Iron Lady, You Were Never Really Here, Four Lions, This is England....and many, many more). Would these films have been made by a privately owned Channel 4? I doubt it. So, as you say, why would you mess with something that is clearly working and is of zero cost to the public. The reasons you have given are the only ones I can think of and it's disgraceful, if not surprising, when it comes to this government.
Arguably C4 is a better public service broadcaster than the BBC. Privatisation appears to be the channel's punishment for being too nasty to Boris. At a time when we are all snearing at the Ivans' state controlled media this move is pretty depressing
It’s short sighted, because previously they were being nasty to Tony and Gordon and there is no reason to suppose they won’t shine a light on Sir Starkers if he gets in.
The C4 story is this week's distraction/deflection - not much mention of Partygate today. There will probably be a quiet climbdown in a few days time. BTW - if you haven't seen ND's Select Committee performance on this topic - it's worth a watch. I wonder how long that toe-curling, nonsensical, struggling to comprehend the situation interlude, would have gone on for if the Permanent Secretary hadn't stepped in to save her..... It's difficult to know how she has risen to be a Secretary of State - there must be some real dross on the government back benches.
Every time I watch/hear her, with that pinched nasal 'faux posh' voice, I can't help hearing Alison Steadman in Abigail's Party.
First world problem number one. If this channel were biased to the right, you guys would have been calling for this for years. Channel 4 is about as independant as the Independant, and this thread is about as boring, uninteresting and irrelevent to the spinning of the world as a discussion on Karl Marx' pencil collection.
Actually UK independent terrestrial TV is a very good example of the Tories and their mantra of "Free Markets". ITV used to be co-operative of 16 (+ITN) regional companies who owned the right to broadcast in those regions (wiki's good summary on the early history). The Tory's decided that this model was stifling competition and innovation, so in 1991 companies had to bid for regional franchises this led to the rise of the world's worst TV network (who had the world's PR man acting for them*) 'Carlton' arriving on the scene (many experts pointed out that they had bid so much for the franchise so couldn't make or buy any good programmes and they didn't) but they were very good at generating profits. The TV franchisees were able to buy each other and by 2004 through all mergers and acquisitions all of the English, Welsh, Scottish Borders and Manx franchises were owned by two companies: Granada and Carlton. These merged to form ITV and tookover the franchises of the Channel Islands and Ulster/Norn Iron. So we now have a system where all the franchises are except Scotland (Central and Highlands) are owned by one company ITV - someone might call this a cartel. *David Cameron whose technique for dealing with bad 'press' would be the 'phone the journalist up and hurl abuse and threats down the telephone at them.
While I am sure there are plenty of political reasons to criticise Nadine Dorries, the constant snearing at her accent and lack of sophistication is yet another example of the sort of middle-class, left-wing snobbery that has alienated Labour’s traditional voter base so successfully and will, in all likelihood, ensure the party remains in opposition for the foreseeable future
Yes thank god they have the non-bigoted, non snobby Tories to go to, where no one has ever taken the piss out of Angela Rayner or Dianne Abbot for their accents or background.
A completely uncultured ‘Culture Secretary’. Someone who sees her ignorance of all matters cultural as a badge of honour. Is that what working class people admire @Lloyd Still, they had a completely uneducated one for education, so why not?
I'll tell you what. I'm not a violent person, but if that lot were lined up in front of my .50 cal machine gun... Brexiteers, these are your fellow travellers. ****s to a man and woman, I think you'd probably agree (if you don't, I'm afraid there really is something wrong with you). Does it never make you think? They are objectively loathsome, regardless of their attitude to brexit. If you can come up with an equivalent list of remain figures, who you don't dislike simply because they are remoaners, I'll be astonished.
If a certain group of people that tend to be more right/brexity are in favour of this then it must be a bad thing.
Yes, I agree with you. It’s almost always true, in fact you are welcome to try to find a recent example where it is not.
Well, I don't dislike anyone because they are a remainer, so, every would be tin pot dictator that sat in front of a load of cars and lorries because they hate the tories but love Channel 4, every BLM activist that supports BLM because in reality they hate the tories and love Channel 4, every remainer that would rather see the UK fail because Brexit but love Channel 4, the list is endless. Needless to say it encompasses a very large proportion of the Labour Party and practically all of what is lleft fo the Liberals. The number of "****s" on the left far outweighs their right wing counterparts. Send your photos in so we can put them up on the forum please...
@Lloyd : you don't dislike Simon Cowell? What's wrong with you? Or have I misunderstood the question? In which case: you do dislike Emily Maitlis? What's wrong with you?
We can immediately take out half because the only problem you have with them is that they are remainers. What's wrong with Rory Stewart? What's wrong with the archbish? What's wrong with Eddie Izard?
I don't think the woman from Novara media is a Remoaner leading light. Nor is Owen Jones. Both pretty ambivalent, particularly post referendum.
Half of these people you have put up merely because they are vaguely leftish or liberalish. And none of them, really, is what you could say was objectively a **** like the brexiteers. It would be like me putting in Michael Caine, Roger Daltry and the bloke out of UFO. Stupid re brexit, but not ****s.
I'll give you Cameron, but as he's not a Remoaner, and actually enabled Brexit, he's a bit of an OG for you.
You asked for dislikable people who were also remainers. Regardless of their views on Brexit I personally find all of those on my lists irritating to some degree - some more so than others. In the interests of fairness I'll put together a gallery of good eggs who were also remainers at some point
Owen Jones is a tool of the highest order. Definitely a very punchable face. Even more so when he speaks.
Because privatization has been a roaring success. More subsidies than ever to the RTOC's, a water supply and treatment infrastructure that is laughable and companies continually asking customers to foot the bill while billions end up in the pockets of fat cats, directors, shareholders and venture capitalists. Terrific stuff.
